EPA Ranks Cities With Most Energy-Efficient Buildings

For the second year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ranked U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of energy efficient buildings that earned EPA’s Energy Star in 2009. This year's list is topped once again by Los Angeles, followed, in order, by Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Lakeland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, and New York.

Continuing growth of the past several years, in 2009 nearly 3,900 commercial buildings earned Energy Star labels, representing annual savings of more than $900 million in utility bills and more than 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Since EPA awarded the first Energy Star label to a building in 1999, nearly 9,000 buildings across America have earned the Energy Star as of the end of 2009. To date, 13 types of buildings can earn the Energy Star, including schools, hospitals, office buildings, retail stores and supermarkets.

Los Angeles currently had 293 Energy Star-labeled buildings, representing 76 million sq. ft. of total floor space and $93.9 million in cost savings. Washington, D.C., with 204 Energy Star-labeled buildings in 2009, moved up from fourth place in 2008, while 2008's second place city, San Francisco, dropped to third place in 2009 with 173 Energy Star-labeled buildings.